GENERAL METHODS 7 



Restocking. If the natural stock is entirely depleted, 

 either birds can be bought and liberated, or else the stock 

 secured can be made to breed in confinement and the young 

 allowed to go free where they were raised. This latter is the 

 surest way of making birds stay. There is a natural homing 

 instinct in birds, as probably in most creatures, which in- 

 clines them to remain on or return to the land of their na- 

 tivity. They are far more hkely to stay than are strange 

 birds. 



Liberating Stock. When birds are to be liberated in a 

 strange locality, the coops should be taken to some attrac- 

 tive natural cover at dusk, food placed where they will see 

 it when they come out, and water if there is none handy. 

 Open the doors quietly and withdraw, letting them come 

 out of their own accord. The probabiUty is that they will 

 stay for the night close by, feed, and perhaps locate there; 

 especially if food is further provided. If it is feasible to 

 keep them a few days in a naturally attractive location in a 

 temporary pen with plenty of cover, and then liberate them 

 in this manner, there is even more chance that they will 

 stay. Such method I have found very successful. About 

 the worst way to manage is to rip off the covers and send 

 the birds whirring off in great fright. It is probable that 

 they will not find each other again, and never get back to 

 the spot, but keep going. Another bad practice is to liberr te 

 them in winter, when they are likely to weaken from cold 

 and hunger, and to get caught by vermin. If received in 

 winter, they should be kept in a suitable enclosure, as 

 described later, and released when spring opens up. Oft- 

 times, especially with stock imported or shipped from a 

 distance, the birds are weakened by the journey and are 

 in no condition to combat the dangers of the wilds. It is 

 usually a good plan to hold birds a while in comfortable 



